Tag: Second Article of postles Creed

In this post we are still looking at The Second Article of The Apostles’ Creed, “And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, Our Lord “. We will be focussing on Jesus as Prophet.

First, what is a Prophet and what are a prophets duties? A real prophet is a messenger sent by God, a person who speaks for God. He or she witnesses to God, calls people to conversion, and may also foretell the future. Prophets often are killed for their message and they are ultimately teachers. Jesus definitely fits this description perfectly. We will look to The Holy Scriptures for our catechesis on Jesus.When learning of Jesus and His life, their is no better place than in The Holy Bible to learn of Our Lord and His Life. Please read and re-read all four Gospels and learn of Our Lord and from His very words. Another excellent book by Thomas A Kempis that has helped me tremendously is called “The Imitation of Christ.” I would say it is a must read to be sure.

Moses speaks of Jesus The Prophet in Deuteronomy 18 , ” [15] The Lord thy God will raise up to thee a PROPHET of thy nation and of thy brethren like unto me: him thou shalt hear: ” Jesus in John chapter 5 also speaks of Moses as a prophet and has this to say to the unbelievers and nay sayers, ” [45] Think not that I will accuse you to the Father. There is one that accuseth you, Moses, in whom you trust. 46] For if you did believe Moses, you would perhaps believe me also; for he wrote of me. [47] But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words? ” Jesus teaches in all He did and in all He still does. Jesus teaches us through His Word, His Actions, and even when it may seem that He is still, we can still learn from Jesus. Every single instance of Jesus’ life on earth including the hidden years between his 12-30 years are for our instruction. As a prophet is to teach, Jesus is The Teacher. In John Chapter 13, Jesus said of Himself, ” [13] You call me Master, and Lord; and you say well, for so I am. Even Nicodemus who was a Pharisee came to see Jesus and spoke of him here in John Chapter 3 ” [2] This man came to Jesus by night, and said to him: Rabbi, we know that thou art come a teacher from God; for no man can do these signs which thou dost, unless God be with him.” So, here we have so many scriptural references to Jesus fulfilling Moses prophecy in Deuteronomy Chapter 18. So Moses the prophet, the greatest Old Testament prophet through Divine inspiration and direction wrote The Torah, which is the first five Books of The Old Testament, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy and whom God revealed His Name, was pointing directly towards Our Lord Jesus Christ. Like St Augustine said, ” The Old is fulfilled in the New, and the New is hidden in the Old.” St Augustine is talking about the prophecies ultimately concerning Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

In the Gospel of Luke, we have Jesus in Chapter 4 teaching in the synagogue using the Holy Scriptures and quoting from the Book of Isaiah. He is letting Holy Scripture do the Teaching, and not mixing words, “[17] And the book of Isaias the prophet was delivered unto him. And as he unfolded the book, he found the place where it was written: [18] The Spirit of the Lord is upon me. Wherefore he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor, he hath sent me to heal the contrite of heart, [19] To preach deliverance to the captives, and sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of reward. [20] And when he had folded the book, he restored it to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. 21] And he began to say to them: This day is fulfilled this scripture in your ears.” Can you imagine what the people must have been thinking? I am certain that the silence that followed this reading must have been that deafening kind, with jaws hanging to the floor. Of course the main point that separates Jesus from all other prophets is that Jesus Christ has a Divine nature and human nature in one person, the Hypostatic Union. This in particular gives Jesus’ teaching its unique and singular authority. When Jesus teaches or prophecies to us, we know that it is actually God Himself speaking to us directly.

Jesus spoke of many prophecies in The Gospels, and in The Epistles and especially in The Book of The Apocalypse. Some of these prophecies have been fulfilled, some are being fulfilled as I write this post, and some we will have to wait for. The Holy Scriptures are layered deep, so please don’t do what I call “cut and paste” scripture interpretation. It is best to follow Jesus’ teaching when he teaches us in Luke Chapter 12 to always be ready for His coming. Don’t wait til tomorrow or next week to be a better Christian, you can do it now with His Grace, and The Holy Sacrifice of The Mass, and The Sacraments. If you haven’t been to confession, do not be afraid, make an appointment with a priest! Our Lord is waiting for you, He wants you to come and see Him, He loves you unconditionally. Lets see what Jesus said in Luke Chapter 12, another prophecy of Our Lord for all of us, “[35] Let your loins be girt, and lamps burning in your hands. [36] And you yourselves like to men who wait for their lord, when he shall return from the wedding; that when he cometh and knocketh, they may open to him immediately. [37] Blessed are those servants, whom the Lord when he cometh, shall find watching. Amen I say to you, that he will gird himself, and make them sit down to meat, and passing will minister unto them. [38] And if he shall come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants. [39] But this know ye, that if the householder did know at what hour the thief would come, he would surely watch, and would not suffer his house to be broken open. [40] Be you then also ready: for at what hour you think not, the Son of man will come.” Jesus will come, He tells us so, therefore, it is Truth. Do not hesitate, be ready always for Our Lord.

May God Bless you always and keep you safe from the world, the devil, and ourselves. In JMJ, Lee